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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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The pinch
— How the baby boomers took their children's future - and why they should give it back | | Author(s) | David Willetts |
| Publisher | Atlantic Books, London, 2010 |
| Pages | 314 pp |
| Source | Atlantic Books, Ormond House, 26-27 Boswell Street, London WC1N 3JZ. www.atlantic-books.co.uk |
| Keywords | Young elderly ; Demography ; Retirement ; Family relationships ; Economics ; Social policy. |
| Annotation | Most of the baby boomer generation - those born between 1945 and 1965 - are now aged over 50. The over 50s are now Britain's biggest and richest group, and own four-fifths of the nation's wealth. However, this position has been attained at the expense of the baby boomer generation's children. The author has been MP for Havant (Conservative) since 1992, and in 'The pinch', he tracks the demographics of boom and bust, and what it means for the distribution of wealth and power. He argues that many of our social and economic problems can be seen as a failure to understand and value exchanges and contracts between the generations. Moreover, we do depend on future generations: just as we were provided for in childhood by the older generation, so in our old age we are provided for by the younger generation. Unfortunately, though, if our political, economic and cultural leaders do not begin to discharge our obligations to the future, people entering the workforce today will be taxed more, work longer hours for less money, have lower social mobility, and live in a degraded environment in order to pay for their parents' quality of life. The author uses examples ranging from population theorist Thomas Malthus to the TV series 'Absolutely Fabulous'. He also presents statistics such as housing and financial wealth, median ages, and changes in healthy life expectancy at age 65. Sources are cited in some detail in a Notes section. (RH) |
| Accession Number | CPA-100310001 B |
| Classmark | BBA: S8: G3: DS:SJ: W: TM2 |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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